The Renegade
by Anyra
Summary: Iggy went pale and pointed with his sightless eyes toward the rigde of the cave near Lake Mead. I whirled around as a sinister, unfamiliar voice said: Hello Max. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

**The Renegade **

_Prologue_

After two hours of steady flying, Lake Mead came into view, along with the cliff top covered with the huge hawks who had rescued us. The six of us, together again, landed gratefully on the scraped-out ledge.

As soon as we all collapsed down on the sandy rocks I held out my left fist. All smiling, even Fang… almost, the flock came and stacked their fists on top of it. One by one, I tapped the backs of their hands and we all slept.

We awoke later in the night to heavy rain, a miracle in the desert. We scrambled up to the ledge and let the rain pour down on us, washing off blood, dirt, and memories. Even raindrops hitting my nose hurt, but I held my arms open to the sky and felt clean and cold and shivery.

I shivered, and Fang briskly rubbed my shoulders. I looked at him, his eyes as dark as the desert sky. "Jeb knows our house," I said very softly.

Fang nodded. "Can't ever go back. Guess we need a new home." As the rain faded so did our liveliness and we all soon drifted back into the warmth of the cave, sleep soon to follow.

_Author's Note:_ Otay, in case you haven't figured it out yet, this story starts right after the gang rescues Angel from the School and they're back at the cave. This prologue is just a stirred up version of chapter 66, just to give you a review. And just wait till the next chapter that is where the fun begins! ; )


	2. Chapter 1

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 1_

I was the last of the flock to wake up to the gold of late morning. I sat up and stretched away my stiff, aching wings. I saw Nudge and Angel sitting near the ledge of the cliff, their legs dangling over it. Fang was sitting hunched over against the wall on the other side from me. He looked up momentarily but then turned back to gaze out the cave's gaping mouth.

I sighed and shook my head. _Yet another silent 'Hello' from Fang. _

"Max!" Angel sprang up and rushed over to me, hearing the sound of me getting up. It felt so good for me just to hold Angel again. I never wanted to let go again. The warmth of our grasp was disturbed as Iggy and the Gasman came around the corner from where the hawks were, an aggressive tone to their voices.

"I'm telling you I heard something!" Iggy started.

"No, you didn't!" Gazzy argued, rolling his eyes.

"What is it guys?"

"Our Walking Sound Detector is broken." Gazzy swelled enthusiastically. _Translation: Iggy was hearing things. _

"I swear, I heard something!" Iggy protested, feeling his way to a wall and slouching down next to Fang.

"He's going insane," the Gasman mumbled.

"I heard that!" _That's your cue, Peacekeeper. Yep, that name will be up in lights in no time, Maximum Ride: Official Peacekeeper of the Freaky Kids with Wings. _

"Okay, Iggy where did you hear… whatever you heard?" I offered.

"It was a weird scraping sound, up above the opening in the cliff." He said and pointed to the top of the cave, slightly to the left. Everyone except Iggy, Gazzy, and me went out on the ledge and stared up the steep wall of rock that made the cave.

"I don't see anything, Iggy. Maybe it was just one of those big hawks landing on the top of the cliff or something. Or maybe it was just your imagination. People imagine things a lot, you know." Nudge reported as Fang returned to his seat on the right side of cave wall.

"Yup," Iggy sighed, turning away from her and Angel. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. The sense he relied on the most had failed him yet again.

When I say again, I mean this used to happen all the time. Iggy was our own personalized walking, talking alarm system and I couldn't tell you how many times I've just about had a heart attack trying to find the invisible Eraser running around our house and on our roof. It always turned out just to be one of Iggy's little mistakes. But then when the _real _Erasers come he didn't hear anything, or he at least didn't tell anyone about it.

I sighed and mentally beat myself up for those thoughts. He couldn't help it. It was wrong to expect so much from him. My heart ached for him while my mind was storing more and more hate for the whitecoats who had cursed him with this fate.

Nudge soon returned and sat next to Iggy. Upon hearing her coming he sat up and scooted away from her. Angel remained out on the ledge still examining the rocky cliff. I turned back to Nudge and Iggy. She was reaching out to comfort him. Nudge is such a sweet girl. But Iggy was angry and she wasn't making the smartest choice at the moment.

The second Nudge's hand touched Iggy's shoulder he swiveled around and slapped it away. "Go away, Nudge! Just leave me alone."

"Iggy, she was just trying to-"

"Max!" Iggy went pale and pointed toward the ridge of the cliff with his sightless eyes. Just then I heard a sinister, _unfamiliar_ voice.

"Hello, Max."

_Author's Note: _Suspense! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Okay, just a heads up, some of the chapters won't be in Max's point of view, it's going to pass around to a few different people. Till next chapter! Toodles: )


	3. Chapter 2

**The Renegade **

Chapter 2

_Come on, trust yourself on this. You know you can do it. This is what Truence would want you to do._

_What? Get killed? There's too many of them…_

I clung to the rough stones just above my cave. _My home…_ I corrected myself as I steadily worked my way towards the mouth. I kept creeping down until I reached the small lip directly over the opening of my home. This shelf was perfect; just far out enough for me to fit and just steep enough for me to be out of sight to anyone below me. I tuned into their conversation as hard as I could. I could hear some of the 'invaders' but couldn't tell exactly where or how many there were.

"I'm telling you, I heard something." I heard one of them say. _Oh, no…_

_Hey, don't worry about it; there is no way they could stand up to you. They're afraid of you._

_Try the other way around. I don't know who'd wet themselves first, them or me!_

I tilted my head so I could really hear them. I jumped as I heard one; she was so close, right under me. I could feel her gaze.

_Oh, God, I can't do this._

_Yes, you can. She's just a little girl, maybe… 12ish._

_Yeah, but there are others with her…_

I stopped everything, even breathing. I smiled.

_Perfect._

_Told ya, you could do it._

_Author's Note:_ Yet another cliffhanger! I'm sorry but I simply love suspense! Although, I didn't plan on having this story be very suspenseful, I may have to change the genre. Sorry for that, too. Anyway, the next chapter should be coming very soon!


	4. Chapter 3

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 3_

"Hello, Max."

I spun around to reveal the most horrifying image I could have ever thought of and worse: my Angel was trapped in the tight grip of a girl, about my age, like us, with _bat-wings._ Her wings had small, clawed hands two-thirds of the way down them. One was at Angel's throat, threatening to take away her short-lived freedom. The other was raised up ominously condemning anyone who dared to get close to a _lot_ of pain.

My heart ached as I watched Angel struggle to get free. She froze as the girl brought her claws close enough to her throat to feel the cold hate that radiated off her. The girl's light brown hair concealed most of her face but, I could see, she was staring right at me with pale golden eyes.

"Yes, I know you, Max. You're the leader of your group, the oldest, the one with all the responsibilities, the one with all the struggles."

_Oh… my … God. _I almost shook with anxiety. She turned to Iggy now and continued.

"Iggy, you and I see a lot of things the same way. But, then again, maybe it's what you _don't_ see." She raised her head slightly giving me a better look at her, as she turned to Gazzy next.

"Now let's see if I got this right, the Gasman? I don't really want to know." The girl smiled as she turned to Nudge. Nudge felt the heat of her glare head on.

"Ah, Nudge, you wouldn't shut up to save your life. But thanks, you gave me all the information I needed to get this…" She turned back to me, "Angel."

She paused there and gave me a moment to take it all in… then it hit me. She had forgotten Fang.

_What? _

I slowly turned to look at Fang. He had his usual calm look, tinted with a slightly confused look. I watched him as he silently crept closer to the edge of the cliff, to the side of the girl.

_She doesn't even know he's here…that doesn't make sense…_

I noticed Fang's stance and trusted that he knew what he was doing. I looked back to the girl; she soon looked as if she was at a loss as she threw a few quick glances around. My eyes were led back over to Fang as I saw him catch Angel's eyes. He brought his hands up to his shoulders and slowly made them flap like wings and then brought up three fingers. It was a countdown. He steadily started to curl them back in.

_Three…two…one…_I thought and winced at the pain of not knowing how this could end.

_Author's Note:_ Otay, I'm sooo sorry I keep updating with the cliffhangers, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! I promise this next chapter won't be a cliffhanger… and I'm sorry if I lied!That's all for now!


	5. Chapter 4

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 4_

_This is the perfect plan and it's going well. _

_You mean was. Something is going on…_

_They wouldn't try anything, not while you've got their girl. _

_I don't know that. _

My thoughts were cut off when the little girl suddenly threw my arms right off her and sprinted away.

"Angel!" I heard the oldest one shout as she ran too her.

_Did I feel feathers? _

_No way, it could have just been a really soft coat._

_Truence did say there were others like us._

_Wait._

I heard nearly silent footsteps, quickly increasing in my direction.

_Oh my God! There's another one?_

My reflexes automatically made me step back over the edge of the cliff, disappearing to everyone above me. A boy, he seemed to be almost as old as me and that other girl, dived over the cliff after me and hovered right in front of me as I hung onto the stones in a small indent directly beneath the cliff.

_They are like me. _I thought, the claws of my wings digging into the soft sandstone.

He clung in the air just long enough for me to send a flying kick into the boy's back. He tumbled forward but regained his control with a few strong thrusts of his wings. I shot off the wall and into the trees. I knew these trees and could perform pretty daring maneuvers when I wanted to. I heard the racing of wings behind me and headed for a large path between the trees.

Right when he least expected it I veered to the right and swung around a tree kicking the boy again as I came around. He went flying into the branch of a tree and clung onto it to stop his fall. Once again I shot off in the opposite direction.

_I think he gets the point, _I hoped, _but the others are still in my home. _

I stopped my thoughts and slowed down, I could've sworn I heard that boy again.

_The right! He's on the right! _My thoughts screamed at me as the boy streamed towards me.

Before I knew it I was being hurled to the left.

_Man, they're fast. _

_Who cares? You're careening out of control 50 feet above the ground! Get a hold of yourself!_

There was nothing I could do then but brace myself. I slammed into a fur tree only a second later.

I thought of everything that Truence had taught me: _tuck in your wings, arms, and legs._

As I started to tumble to the ground I stretched my wings out again, hoping to catch on something or stop my fall, whichever came first.

_This isn't working. Umm… what else was there? Don't land on your back or front, you'll break your ribs and whiplash your head into the ground. Land on your side…whichever one is NOT your good side. _

I could almost hear his words in my head as I tried to direct myself to land on my left side.

_If you're gonna fall, it's gonna hurt. So you might as well get as much out of it as possible. _

_Yeah but its still gonna hurt… _I remembered saying to him. I felt my eyes start to burn. The frustration that had been building up the past 3 months burst out of me finally. I screamed as loud as I could, relieving my heart of the pain that had dwelt there. My cry was cut short as I hit the ground. I laid there for a few seconds, my eyes closed.

_Okay…I don't feel anything. _

I opened my eyes but quickly regretted it. A surge of pain overpowered my will to get up and get away from the boy. I waited for it to fade then propped myself up slightly. I felt a flood of wetness stream over my wing and shoulder; I looked to see blood flowing steadily out of a foot long, 3 inch deep wound from the top of my shoulder splitting halfway down to my elbow. My wing also had several smaller gashes scattered about it.

I glanced down to see what I had landed on: the roots from the tree and some big rocks entangled in them… _nice. _I coughed and tasted the blood in my mouth.

_What to do…umm, Truence said to come get him… he's not…here. _I thought as I began to feel nauseous. There was a quiet thud as the boy landed 30 feet behind me.

_No, go away! Haven't you caused me enough pain yet? _I forced myself to my feet and wobbled over to another tree, leaning on it heavily. I couldn't even pull my wing up against my back so there was no hope of flying away. I could move my arm up to my elbow but if I moved my shoulder too much a new wave of pain washed over me. I listened to what the boy was doing… nothing.

_If he was really out to kill me he would have done it already… but still…who goes trusting people who just about killed them? Okay, maybe not kill but, damn this hurts! _So caught up in my thoughts, I didn't realize how hard it was getting just to hold myself up.

I heard the boy come up behind me and let him. There was nothing I could do to even help much less protect myself. I fell my legs finally give out from beneath me and, before I knew it, I was on the ground again.

_This was not a good day…_

_Author's Note: _Finally! A chapter more than a page long! I'm pretty sure most after this will be longer too but I can't promise anything. Just to say, there is no M x F but there is gonna _seem_ like some Iggy x OC but it's not gonna go anywhere; I'm a terrible matchmaker. But there will be a little OC x OC but I doubt that would bother anyone as much as if it were some of the real characters!


	6. Chapter 5

**The Renegade**

Chapter 5

"Angel!" I rushed up to her, my eyes and heart aching from the flock's last great adventure.

_It's not over yet. _I reminded myself. Angel leapt up into my arms and started to cry weakly.

"Shh… it's okay. She's gone now, you're safe." I cooed. I was so proud of my little Angel. After being in the school and now this, she still was brave and trusting enough to follow instructions at a whim.

"Thanks Max." She responded. I hugged her closer.

"Max! Fang is fighting with the girl. She kicked him hard. I hope he's okay 'cause it looked like it kind of hurt. That girl must be almost as strong as us." Nudge started.

_Oh no, Fang was angry and he had someone to take it out on. This is not going to end well._

I scanned the cave. Gazzy and Nudge were watching for Fang and the girl over the cliff, Angel was standing next to me holding my hand, and Iggy was… still staring at the pile of dust where the girl had been.

"Iggy? You okay?" I asked coming over to him.

"What? Yeah, I was just… thinking." He jumped when I put my hand on his shoulder. Okay, Iggy acted weird sometimes but this was a little more than usual. He'll be okay though.

"Gazzy come over here." Gazzy came without a word after hearing the tone in my voice. "I need you to stay with your sister, okay? You can be her little body guard, okay?"

"Okay!" Gazzy's face lit up. He loved to feel like he could protect someone. I ruffled his hair and sent him and Angel off in the back of cave.

"Nudge can you just stay there and tell me when you can see Fang or the girl?" This question was almost unnecessary because she would have done it anyway but, hey, it couldn't hurt. I looked back to Iggy, trying to think of something he can do.

_Maybe it would just be better to let him be. _I decided.

We waited like this for only five minutes and anxiety was eating away at me already. Where was Fang? He could be hurt, I mean, we all saw those girl's claws. They could slash through anything!

_Okay, just calm down, Max. You're getting ahead of yourself._

Just then a scream broke out from the woods below the cave. It was a cross between a human scream and the howl of an animal. Definitely not Fang. Good. I hope.

"Fang! It's Fang!" Nudge shouted a few minutes later. Within seconds Fang appeared over the edge holding the girl. Nudge wisely backed away from them both. We watched as the girl tapped Fang's arm a few times and he set her down, revealing the girl's mangled shoulder. She staggered over to the edge of the cliff and threw up over the side of it. I winced and turned back to Fang. He was covered in blood too.

"What did you do to her?" I asked when I saw her cough up more blood. Fang shrugged as he pulled off his bloody windbreaker. He walked back over to the girl, picked her up and brought her over to the other side of the cave in the shade. I was totally amazed. This girl who had just threatened to kill Angel was now being so obedient… it was almost unnatural. Fang laid the girl on her good shoulder.

"Do you have any supplies around here?" Fang asked her quietly.

"Yeah," the girl's voice cracked, "behind the rock. You have to… have to push it to the right then pull it out."

I was speechless. As Fang started over to the back of the cave, I rushed over to him.

"Fang… um are you sure this is the right thing to do?" I asked as quietly as I could. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"What ever happened to Max: Protector of All Weak and Defenseless?"

"Yeah, but this time Angel was almost the Weak and Defenseless. She could have killed her!"

"Max, you know we can't just leave her here. She'd die!"

"I… I know but still. We still have to be careful around her." I declared, trying to sound confident.

"Max, she can barely walk," Fang said shaking my shoulders lightly, "Just trust me, okay?"

Fang followed the girl's instructions and removed a large stone in front of a smaller cavern filled with just about anything I could think of; shoes, books, a little radio, even what looked like a home-made hammock. Eventually, Fang and I sifted through it all until we found a small first aid kit. I turned around to check on the girl.

"Iggy!" Iggy was right next to her, carefully running his hands through her long brown hair.

"I think she passed out."

"No," the girl breathed, "She did not pass out." Iggy smiled and continued to run his hands though the girl's hair.

"Max," Fang whispered to me, "There's nothing to clean her cuts with."

"There should be some liquor in there." The girl said surprisingly calm. Fang and I exchanged confused looks. "What? I don't drink it. I saved it for stuff like this."

"Okay," I paused, "What's your name anyway?"

"Aven."

_Author's Note: _See, the whole I x OC thing that is as far as it goes. No more. Nada. Anyway, I'm glad for another kindalong chapter and I hope you are too. I'll try to update soon!


	7. Chapter 6

**The Renegade**

Chapter 6

_This hurts in every part of me. I'm ashamed of myself for not driving these guys out, I hate myself for almost letting myself get killed, and now I'm stuck being cared for by the same people who I was trying to get out! Gees, life stinks! _I mentally yelled at myself.

_It could be worse…_

_Oh really? How so?_ The sudden silence within myself assured my life's absolute hopelessness.

"I'm guessing I was right with all your names, right?" I asked, quickly regretting it.

_Great! Now, let's remind the only people who could keep you from bleeding to death about how you just threatened to kill their youngest member._

Max was the only one that seemed to notice. She seemed especially tense and angry at me. I heard all her comments about me; good hearing comes with the whole bat wing thing. I guess I can't really blame her, though.

"Yeah," Nudge answered, "The only one you forgot was Fang. How did you figure out all our names anyway? Were you watching us the whole time?"

"I didn't watch you. I listened to you all for about an hour and figured out as much as I could," Judging by the sudden silence I figured I needed to explain further, "I can hear really well, it comes with the wings." Another long silence answered me, so I just gave up. I'm not good with kids.

Fang returned with the liquor and two towels. I briefly wondered why Max wasn't going to do this, I mean, it wasn't anything that invasive but still… it's kind of weird.

_She does NOT like you!_

_Which is very bad._

_Yeah, the leader hates you guts!_

_Which are one limb away from bursting out._

"Okay," Fang hesitated, "This is probably going to hurt."

_Well, yeah! It's gonna hurt like Hell!_

I put one of the towels under my arm to keep my already blood-soaked clothes from getting even wetter while Fang was wetting the other towel with the liquor. "I'll try not to pass out." I sighed, grabbing a chunk of rock that stuck out in the wall ahead of me and bracing myself for the pain. I shut my eyes and felt like I was spinning.

_This is not good._

I felt the pressure of the towel press down on my shoulder followed by the cold sensation of the liquor dripping into the gash on my arm. I bit my lip, bracing for the sting of the alcohol. It felt like a burning building just fell on me. I couldn't control myself. My battered wing scraped the ground next to me, digging through the thin layer of sand and grinding against the rock underneath. I couldn't even feel when Fang took the cloth off, rewetted it, and replaced it back on my arm; my mind was too overloaded with the burn.

I tried to concentrate on keeping myself from crying but I gave up quickly realizing that it was near impossible. I regrettably let silent tears slide down my already bleeding cheeks. I tilted my head so my hair fell over my face, hiding my tears from Fang. Only one person has seen me cry before and I'd prefer for it to stay that way. I couldn't help but long for Truence to be here with me, holding my hand and comforting me. The thought only caused a light sob to escape my lips and make me wish Fang had just killed me.

_It would have been better for me._

_It would have been better for them._

_Besides I could finally be with Truence._

_Author's Note: _Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Suspense, sorry but I'm feeling exceptionally evil lately! Nah, just kidding! Sorry this is a kind of short chapter but I promise I'll update soon! Till next time!


	8. Chapter 7

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 7_

Truence watched the wall of screens that loomed before him. He struggled to keep his face as blank as possible but inside his emotions were building up and threatening to burst out of him.

_I knew I should have never agreed to this…_

"Hey, your time is up, 47." The one of the erasers growled from behind him. He was tempted to rip all their throats out but he don't know if he could handle all 5 of them at once. He didn't respond. "Now!" The eraser roared. Just then the lights flicked on and Dan came in leading another scientist.

"47," Dan said sounding surprised. He cleared his throat and continued, "Jeb this is Experiment 47."

"It's Truence." He said tensely, refusing to face Dan or his fellow scientist. The two stepped up to the wall of screens.

"I think we might have found something pretty important to you." Dan stated, completely ignoring Truence. Dan picked up the remote and rewound the tape to one of the screens. The screen showed the opening to Aven's cave. He fast-forwarded until a flock of six 'angels' swooped down onto the ledge. Jeb's mouth hung open for only an instant before his face returned to its usual stern, serious look.

"That's them," Jeb responded, staring at the screen, "Have you sent any search parties?"

"Well, we would like to study how these experiments react to each other. You see, we released Experiment 46 and 47 together to see how they would survive and studied their interaction," Dan started, still not caring about what Truence heard, "Then after three years we took this one back." He motioned to Truence. "We wanted to see how they would do apart…" He trailed off and looked at Truence. The video continued until the oldest 'angel' boy flew up to the ledge carrying Aven where Dan paused the tape, revealing her shredded shoulder to the hidden camera. Truence could barely see the screen in the light but he knew the extent of her wounds.

_Aven I'm sorry…_

"Now we want to see how different experiments react to each other. It's the perfect opportunity, we should take advantage of it." He finished.

"Yes, well if you'll excuse me I have a meeting." Jeb said and slipped out of the room, the erasers following him. Dan turned to Truence and felt a twinge of fear upon seeing the boy's face. Truence stood up to tower 5 inches above the scientist.

"You didn't release us, we escaped," the boy began with a dark tone. Dan dared to look up to his pale gray eyes but could not hold his gaze.

"Yes, but-" He started.

"You swore you would let me go if Aven ever got hurt as long as I came with you …" Truence interrupted.

"Yes, but the problem is you didn't come without a fight."

"You never said I had to come easily." Truence let his voice rise with his emotions.

"We had to damn near kill you to get you to come with us!" Dan yelled back, "Your lucky we didn't just kill you then."

"You know you would never kill one of your precious experiments." Truence mocked the scientist and let his wings stretch out around him. Dan stared at the boy angrily reaching for the intercom.

"We're going to need two erasers in video study room 56." Dan talked into the small speaker without ever taking his eyes off Truence. Within seconds two erasers came into the room and roughly took Truence away by the arms. As they escorted him down the hall one thought remained in his mind.

_You know you would never kill one of your precious experiments…_

With the thought a plan erupted. Truence had a plan to get whatever he wanted. He knew it would work. It had to work. The erasers stopped at his room. It was a lot better than all the experiments' rooms simply for the fact that it was a room and not a cage. It was still only a four by six room though and had only enough room for a small cot. The erasers shoved him in and slammed the steel door behind him. Truence slumped down on the cot and held his head in his hands.

_Aven…My Aven is hurt and I'm not there to help her. _

Silent tears rolled down his face. Miles away, Aven was crying too, silent tears that could be sensed by Truence. Tears that blinded her in the dark pain and now tears that blinded Truence in the brightness of the florescent lights of the lab.

_Author's Note: _Wow, deep! laughs manically Yup, this is the result of finally being on spring break. I hope you think it's good. Your first introduction to the mystery of Truence. I'll update soon! Toodles!


	9. Chapter 8

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 8_

_I couldn't believe this. Fang has finally cracked. _I fumed over the flock's current situation.

_Okay, lets take account of what just happened. We got Angel out of the School. That meant less stress for everyone. We rest at a random cave. Before we knew it, Angel was in the hands of another enemy. She got away and Fang chased and practically killed um… Aven. _

_Here's where it gets kind of weird. (Huh! Our lives get weird? Never!)_

_Fang takes this girl _back here_. She apparently lives in the cave. And now he's taking care of her as if she was one of us! The girl who just threatened to take Angel away _again!

I sat on the ledge of the cave staring out over the tops of the trees. Angel suddenly appeared next to me. I put my arm around her and asked "You doing okay?" She nodded and leaned against me.

_She's so brave! _My heart warmed up on the thought. _My little girl…she's so sweet…_

Fang soon joined us.

"Max, she passed out. Her wound is clean but…"

"You don't know how to sew." _Crap. I know how to sew…but I don't think I could handle helping this girl yet. Not after what she did to Angel. _

Fang seemed to read my mind.

"Iggy is pretty good with his hands; I'm pretty sure he knows how to sew." He offered. Before I could respond he went over to Iggy and explained the situation.

"Max knows how to sew, and she can see! Why isn't she doing this?" Iggy asked very loudly. I listened to Fang quietly clarified.

"Max, is having a hard time with what happened to Angel…"

Iggy waited expectantly.

"Iggy."

"Fine, where's the needle and string?" Fang went over to Aven's little storage hole and dug around until he emerged with a needle and some thin black string. And then led Iggy over to Aven. He let his hand graze over her figure, looking at her with his hands.

"She's really out this time, right?" Iggy asked, setting his blind gaze on the girl.

"Yeah. Can you tell where she's hurt?" Fang asked. Iggy let his hand fall gently on her shoulder and felt around the wound. Fang handed him a towel to wipe off the blood as he studied Aven.

"Ouch… what _did_ you do to her?"

"She fell on some rocks…" Fang said quietly. As I listened to them talk I could tell Fang wasn't proud about what he did. Secretly, I couldn't be happier. She deserved it after threatening to kill a little girl, my little girl.

_I probably would have done the same thing though…_

_Author's Note: _One more chapter done… sorry it's short but I swear I'll update soon!


	10. Chapter 9

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 9_

I woke up to the same pain I had unknowingly passed out to. I opened my eyes and saw the stone wall of my cave and relaxed. Even if I was in pain I was home. I was just about to get up when I saw a shadow on the wall and froze. Someone was behind me. It wasn't Truence either. I jumped up and swung around to see who the hell was in my cave raising my clawed wing, ready to strike.

"Iggy!" someone shouted. I winced as my shoulder ached with pain. I squeezed it with my other hand, hoping to end the pain. It only made it start bleeding again.

"Aven? It's just me, Iggy." A familiar voice said. I froze again, my mind lost in thought. Someone else yanked Iggy away from me.

"Iggy?" Suddenly it all came back to me. I let my wings fall to my sides where they draped down on the floor. My eyes fell to the floor along with them.

"Aven… are you okay?" Max asked. She was standing four feet away from me holding Iggy tightly back by the shoulders, I couldn't see but I'm pretty sure she was glaring at me. At first I didn't respond. I was ashamed again.

"Umm… I guess…" I slumped down against the wall turned my face away from all of them, feeling the burn of tears in my eyes. I sighed and try to compose myself.

_Another psychotic attack…now their gonna think I'm nuts…am I? _

"I'm sorry." I whispered quietly. I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"It's alright…" Max assured me but something in her voice made me uncertain. I didn't buy it. "You just scared us… umm… Iggy is going to sew your arm up for you now." She finished, guiding Iggy to me.

"Wait, the blind guy is going to give me stitches?" I said taking Iggy's hand when he reached out to find me. I felt him glare at me momentarily but then the heat of it suddenly dulled.

"Don't worry, Iggy is probably the best at sewing out of all of us, no offense Max." Fang reassured me. I trusted him but I didn't really know about what he had just said though.

_What girl doesn't know how to sew? _My mind forced me to think.

_Forget it! You already know she doesn't like you. Just forget it…_

"Okay…" I mumbled, carefully laying myself back down on the cave floor. Iggy kneeled behind me and his shadow reappeared on the wall.

"Sorry if this hurts." He said doubtfully.

_I can't feel the sting of the needle over the sting of the gaping hole in my shoulder but thanks for warning me._

"You know what you said about me before?" Iggy asked, his voice quiet enough so only we could hear.

"What? About 'the blind guy giving me stitches' thing? Sorry about that, it just seems pretty weird." I replied feeling the guilt that had been building up in me since I said that release.

"No, not that. You said that you and I see a lot of things the same way…" He recalled. My heart raced and out of all things I prayed that I had never said that. Never done anything about the flock when they were in my cave. Never even noticed that they were here. Iggy continued with the four words I never wanted to hear, "I know your blind."

I screamed inside and cried on the outside. No one except Truence had ever known about me being blind. Tears rolled down my face. My weakness is exposed.

"Aven, it's okay." He comforted me quietly.

"I'm not totally blind you know." I said grazing his hand, pausing him so I could sit up. "I have sort of the opposite of what normal people see. I can't see when it's too light; I have a 'white out'. I can only see in the dark and in shadows." I briefly wished I could see Iggy's reaction to all this but lost interest quickly. I had just told my deepest secret. Inside I begged Truence to forgive me for telling our secret.

_He's dead; he can't be angry at or forgive you._

_I don't know that…_

_What? That he's dead or that he can't forgive you from the test tube in the sky?_

_Both…_

"When did you…" I started to ask but stopped myself. It wasn't right.

"You can ask." Iggy urged casually, his voice relaxed.

"Were you always blind?" I asked keeping my voice down.

"No." A simple question, an even simpler answer. I knew there was a story behind it but felt that I had already delved my fair share of personal questions.

"I was always this way." I commented. Silence followed my statement.

"Yeah at least you can still see at night though." Iggy said quietly with slight sadness in his voice.

"I'm sorry." I responded, not knowing what else to say.

"It's not your fault, it's the School's. Speaking of which, how did you escape?" He asked, raising his voice so the others could hear.

_What is he talking about? Did they get to go to school like normal kids?_

"I… I don't understand. I never went to school." I swallowed cautiously, hoping I didn't sound as stupid and clueless as I felt. I felt everyone's eyes on me and bit my lip in embarrassment.

"Didn't you come from a lab run by Satan's scientists?" Iggy questioned, sounding almost as confused as I was.

"I… I don't know… I just remember waking up in this cave all beat up." I confessed. "I had a pretty big gash on my head and this." I stretched out my only working wing and displayed the two-foot long scar that ran across it. "I couldn't fly until it healed. Luckily, bats have almost no blood flow in the skin on our wings so it didn't take long to heal."

"We heal faster than normal people, too." the Gasman jumped in.

"Well, the skin of a normal bat is already the fastest healing tissue on the planet so we heal extra fast." I said trying my best to block my hate of kids from my sentence. I quickly rethought that statement and forced myself to hold in a gasp.

_I said 'we'. Shoot… please don't notice. Please don't notice._

"So you just woke up here with no memory of anything at all?" Max said somewhat doubtingly.

"Yeah, I guess. I know just about as much as you do about me getting here." I sighed. I listened as Nudge and Angel sifted through everything in my storage and continued as Fang walked over to the girls and sat next to them, opening a newspaper and starting to read it's contents.

"How'd you get all this stuff?" Nudge asked enthusiastically. I sighed again. This wasn't going to help with winning over these guys' trust.

"Well, I'm kind of an urban legend around here. You know, like Bigfoot or the New Jersey Devil. I'm known as Hell's Angel." I once again felt all eyes on me and continued to speak. "I, basically… steal everything I need from RVs and campsites around here." I bit my lip and lowered my blinded eyes to the ground and waited for a reaction from one of the group.

"I'm finished, Aven. Do you have scissors around here?" Iggy said, saving me from more awkward periods of prolonged silence.

"There should be some somewhere in there." I pointed to the storage area and heard Angel find them and quietly bring them over to Iggy. As soon as he snipped the string I felt around my mangled arm. It still hurt but the time I spent passed out had dulled the pain slightly.

"Aven." Fang spoke only that word and I noticed the rhythm he had held in flipping the pages of the newspaper had suddenly stopped. "Is there something your not telling us?" I tensed as he made his way over to me still holding the newspaper. Iggy scooted away as he came over and squatted in front of me and held the newspaper in front of me. I panicked. Not only could I not see what he was holding in front of me, I probably had no explanation for whatever the picture was of without having to tell them more about myself or Truence.

"Well, the first thing I should tell you is that I'm blind and I can't see what you're holding in front of me." I said as calmly as I could manage, keeping my eyes looking straight ahead of me, whether that was at Fang or not. I reached out a hand and grazed the paper feeling for the heavy black ink that formed the heading.

"Hell's Angels Caught on Film"

"Your not the only one, are you?" He said the tone of his voice alarmingly serious. It brought an unknown fear of all of them into my view. "Who is he?"

"His name is Truence."

_Author's Note:_ Yay! I think this is my longest chapter yet! And there's more to come. Please review, I hope you liked it! Till next chapter!


	11. Chapter 10

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 10_

"His name is Truence." Aven said, a hint of anger and sadness flowing through her voice. Now she had my attention. I walked over to Fang and looked over his shoulder, my eyes widening at the picture he held.

There was a boy just like her, diving through the sky at the person holding the camera that took this picture. Long black hair masked his face as he lunged at the photographer, his clawed wing raised in a blur, coming down hard to strike at them. In the background I could make out the shape of Aven soaring down to join him. The picture brought a haunting feeling into the cave and I swear I could almost sense the boy's presence, and it was not a friendly one. Fang felt it too and stood up quickly, tense and ready for almost anything to happen.

"Where is he now?" He demanded, fiercely. Aven looked up to him with tear filled eyes that sank back down to the floor after sensing the angry glare Fang shot her. There they shut, letting the tears slip silently down her face. She wasn't going to answer. "Iggy, keep your ears open. We need to be ready for anything." He ordered.

_I knew we couldn't trust her. _The thought involuntarily slipped into my mind and although I did agree with it, it seemed kind of harsh. I looked at Aven again, it was the first time I've really had a good look at her. Her long pale brown hair was blackened in spots with dried blood as was her once white tank top and dark ripped jeans. Before when we had first 'met' her she stood only slightly shorter than me from what I could guess. She felt my gaze fall over her and raised her pale gold eyes to mine for only a moment before turning them away. Iggy was still beside her.

"Iggy," I called to him quietly. He recognized my tone and hesitantly came to my side. Fang soon joined him at my side.

"Max, we should get out of here." He whispered to me, his eyes averted to Aven's silent form.

"Yeah," I responded now almost hypnotized by Aven.

"I'll start to get our stuff together." Fang said and went about collecting what few possessions we had. I felt almost captivated by Aven's emotions, I could feel them, they were so strong. I walked my way quietly over in front of her and sat down. She turned her head away and seemed to brace herself for whatever I had to say.

"Why didn't you tell us about Truence before?" I asked, keeping my voice as free of emotion and expression as possible. At first I didn't think she was going to answer.

"He told me to never tell anyone about either one of us. We swore to protect each other if one of us was ever found." She said finally. Her eyes reddened from her tears and her eyebrows wrinkled in worry. "I'm sorry." She added moments later.

_Sorry doesn't cover it, but she was just trying to protect him. Sounds like something I would do…_I was stuck in my thoughts and lacked a response. For some reason, I felt like I didn't want to leave her quite yet. She still had something to tell us.

"Where is he?" I asked quietly, staying as calm as I could. She squeezed her eyes shut in pain and swallowed hard. Again she took a long pause before speaking.

"You don't have to worry about him." She whispered, keeping her eyes down. She fiddled with a small necklace around her neck as a breeze blew her pale dusty brown hair across her face. It was made out of two differently colored stones; one was pale blue-gray in the shape of a 'C' with hard sharpened points. The other was a dark shining black in the shape of a plus sign; it also had pointed edges and was attached behind the 'C'.

"Nice necklace." I commented casually. She jumped and took both hands off of it.

"Oh," She gave a brief smile, "Thank you… Truence had one like it only his cross was in front."

"Where did you get them?" I asked, this time honestly curious. She said she stole everything they had, so my guess was that it was pretty impossible to find two necklaces that are exactly the same except for one small difference.

"Truence… he made them for us." I let my brow fur in slight confusion. As if seeing this she continued, "You'd be surprised at how hard our claws are." She said extending her wing slightly, curling the small hand on it and showing me her claws. "For example." She said and slammed the hand down into the stone next to her. The motion made me jump and feel embarrassed as she slowly lifted her hand again, exposing a row of three-inch deep holes in the sandstone.

"Fang," I called turning away from Aven and starting over towards him. "I think we should stay." His eyebrows raised in his 'are you serious?' look. "Seriously, the flock hasn't had a good rest since…" I was caught mid sentence, I couldn't remember the last time we'd had a good rest! "Since forever! Besides we might be able to learn something about the School from her."

"She didn't even know what the School was." Fang pointed out bluntly.

"Yeah but just because she doesn't know about the School she might know something else…" Fang looked at me doubtingly. "Besides, the flock needs a good rest. It can't hurt to stay."

"We don't know where the other one is and, from what she did to me, I don't want to find him. Who knows how strong he is." Fang said. Truly, I hadn't even thought about Fang getting hurt when he was fighting with Aven. He rubbed his back lightly as he spoke.

"You're okay, right?" I asked, feeling a twinge if guilt about not asking sooner.

"Yeah," Fang responded quickly.

"Good. Aven said we didn't have to worry about him," I lowered my voice, "She cried when she said it. I think he's dead." Fang looked at me unsurely. "Why else would he leave her?"

"I guess," Fang said, sighing, "We've trusted your 'feelings' before. Why not now?" A small smile confirmed his hidden opinions. So the decision was final. We were staying. With Aven. And possibly Truence. Hopefully not.

_Author's Note:_ (blows confetti everywhere) This chapter is posted to celebrate the release of James Patterson's next book in the series we all love: _Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever!_ It will be out May 20th so go buy it!


	12. Chapter 11

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 11_

I sighed a silent breath of relief. I had no idea why, but I was insanely glad that the flock was staying. _Well, most of the flock anyway. The younger ones I could do without. Especially Nudge._ I thought, turning an ear to Nudge, as she and Angel huddled around a lantern Fang had put out in the center of the cave. It had been there for almost an hour now and for almost an hour Nudge had never stopped talking.

_Did I get a say in what light gets turned on in my cave? Did I invite them to blind me during the only time where it's dark enough for me to see? _I sighed again and jumped as I felt a hand slide lightly over my shoulder.

"You're breathing funny? You sure you're okay?" Iggy said sitting down on the sandy floor with me. I curled my knees into my chest and rested my chin on them.

"I'm fine… I'm just having a… bad day." I said, rolling my eyes at my lack of better words. I looked at him, barely seeing the shadow's that fell over his face, I figured he was smiling. I almost smiled back, even if he couldn't see it, but a wave of regret took over me. Somehow it felt wrong…

_No… Truence… It was him… something's wrong with him, _I couldn't help but think something isn't right. I closed my eyes and thought deeply. Truence and I never could literally read each other's minds, unlike Angel I was beginning to find out, but we always had a sense of knowing how the other was feeling. Right now the feeling was not good. I turned my head away from Iggy over to the ledge of my cave to clear my thoughts. Max and Fang sat on the edge, their feet dangling over it. I cursed that stupid lantern again after not being able to tell if they were holding hands or not. Why did we even have that lantern anyway?

_Using 'we' again… dang it… I really need to get Truence being gone through my head… _

_But he's not 'gone'… he's just not here…_

"I can't remember the last time the flock had a good day… maybe yesterday but we were all pretty exhausted." Iggy said with a small laugh, his voice bringing me back to reality. Max and Fang returned into the light of the cave, blinding me to their whereabouts.

"Aven. Iggy. You want to join us over here? We need to talk about some things." Max asked turning to Iggy and I.

_Oh, boy. Things? I was in trouble now…_ I thought dimly. I stood up, helped Iggy up, and then, still holding his hand, lead him over to the rest of the group.

"Aven, we need to know what's really going on here with you and Truence." She said once we were all sitting down around the lantern.

_And so begins one extremely long period of painful memories and old stories._ I thought and started to explain exactly how we had gotten here.

"I just remember waking up in a lot of pain, I was pretty worked over, so was Truence but he flew me up to this cave and we rested up and just stayed here. I have no idea how we even got here, Truence would never tell me." A hint of sadness entered my voice involuntarily. "He had saved my life so many times before, I just never pushed him to tell me anything. From what I could tell it must have been pretty bad." I paused, waiting for a possible reaction. "You guys know about it, though?" They all fell silent for a moment and I felt the tension building. After a few seconds Max started to explain about the School. The testing, how we were 'made', how they had escaped, the works. I stifled my thoughts on how Truence and I got away and why I couldn't remember a single thing about it and continued to listen.

"What about the picture on the newspaper? What were you doing?" Nudge asked after Max was done.

"Well… Truence and I are kind of urban legends around here. We're like Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster; some people don't believe in us, some do. That was the only time someone actually got us on camera. We attract tourists like crazy but I don't really know why they come. That's how we got all our stuff; we stole it from campers and tents."

"Why did you try to steal from them while they were in the camper?" Max asked skeptically. I was hoping they wouldn't ask that.

"It's kind of… we never wanted to do that but once sightings of us stopped so did the tourism. Then we have no way to get food." I told them, "We need to stir everyone up every once in a while to keep them coming. Unfortunately, that time they had a camera."

"What did you do?" Gazzy asked excitedly.

"We used fear tactics. When they can see you be loud, keep your wings out so you look bigger, and lock eyes with whoever you're after. When they can't see you be beyond silent, stay in shadows, and come out when and where they least expect it. Everyone claims to not be afraid of us but when they see us face-to-face they almost always run."

"What happens when they don't?" Max asked, a serious tone in her voice.

"Once a man pulled a rifle on us, he shot Truence in the wing and was coming after me but Truence… when he gets angry there's no stopping him. The man and his wife were dead when we left." I finished quietly, "I know it was wrong but we have to look out for ourselves too. Being separated, this is exactly what we never wanted to happen."

"The family with that took this picture didn't live long either did they?" Max asked, taking the newspaper and looking at it intensely. I shook my head, letting it drift down so I would be seeing my feet, if I could see at all. "Truence killed them? Or did you?"

"Out of all of them? He killed all but one… there was this one man… he just wandered through the woods for two days. He passed other hikers but never spoke to anyone; he just walked around all day and slept in trees at night. On the third morning we found his shirt and sweatshirt ripped to shreds under the tree he had slept under but he was nowhere around. We went down to check it out and couldn't find him." I was stopped by a sudden flashback. The pure black, hateful eyes that belonged to the pale, tattooed body of the man rushed towards Truence from behind. I didn't fear anything an attack from a normal human didn't faze either of us. Then there was a flash of light that blinded me from seeing whatever the man was holding.

"He attacked Truence with a knife." I almost added in that I was terrified but figured I had publicly humiliated myself enough for one day. "He stabbed him in between the wings and I had to kill him. We never killed anyone just for the sake of killing someone." I said defensively, feeling the emotion in my voice rise.

"Is that how… why Truence is gone?" Max asked.

"No, he was bleeding but he still could fly. He flew himself pretty easily back here and… basically told me how to stop the bleeding and everything from there." I briefly relived the most horrific moment of my life. If he would've passed out I wouldn't have had a clue of what to do and he could have died. "I'm not proud of what we have to do for to live but it's either us or them."

Max nodded but stopped when she notice I could see her. After out little 'meeting' it was nearly pitch black outside and I longed so deeply to go fly through the liquid night air. Max force the little ones to sleep on the floor using the only two blankets I had. I had no idea what the rest of them were going to do. I was fine; I loved the cool darkness of the night and life in a cave. It's part of the bat thing, what can I say? Max and Fang stayed by the lantern and talked about me. I tuned into their discussion between Iggy and my conversation about sight. Apparently I have never seen the colors yellow or pink or any pastel versions of any colors. I don't really know what he's talking about. He actually saw normally for a while, I never have. He fell asleep while trying to find the best way to describe colors. I tried too but it really is almost impossible.

I stopped my thoughts and stared at the dark ceiling that hung above me. It felt good to talk to someone again.

_Author's Note: _Hope you like the chapter! Sorry I took forever to update I've had a rough week. Between my Dad going to the hospital, the school year ending, and (smiles) meeting a really nice guy, I've been pretty busy for the past… long time. Anyway, hope you like it and please leave a review to let me know!


	13. Chapter 12

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 12_

Truence sat on his cot waiting, lightly tracing his wrists with the small claws on his wings. He tried to control his breathing and relax himself but it was impossible. Right now he was either going to leave this place forever and be able to spend the rest of his life with Aven or prevent himself from ever seeing her again. His scientist, Dan, should be inspecting his quarters through the tiny camera and microphone in the corner of the room very soon. That's when his plan would take action. Truence waited for the sound of the camera's electronic gears swiveling it around so it saw the entire room. When the sound met his ears his leapt up and faced the camera.

"Dan! Dan!" He yelled at the camera, "You studied me and Aven for a long time and you know we always get what we want." He paused and raised his wings as far as they could reach in the small room. "I want to get out of here, now. And you are going to let me go." He lifted his wrist up to the sharp claws on his wing and dug them deep into his skin. "Your going to let me go or you won't have your precious little experiment for very long." Truence tore his claws down and out of his wrist and let the blood gush out. He looked at the camera again and smiled, revealing his abnormally long, pointed canines. He brought his wrist to his mouth and sucked up some of the blood.

"Better hurry up, Dan, your experiment is dying." Truence mocked him, still smiling, this time blood seeping through his teeth. He punched the lens until it cracked and then spit on it, the blood covering the lens. Within seconds, Truence could hear the sounds of erasers, scientists, medics, and Dan pounding down the hallway to his room. He cut a small slice out of his other wrist and winced as he wiped it across the small window in the door to his room.

_They can be blind for a little while too. _Truence thought and flicked out the lights. He took his cot and broke off on of the metal legs, jamming it between the crack of his door and the wall opposite of it; for once feeling grateful for his small room. He saw a dark shadow appear behind the blood on the window. He heard muffled whispering as more shadows appeared.

"47… Truence, we're coming in to stabilize you and help you." Dan's voice cracked. And the handle on the outside of the door wiggled, once, again, and again; each time Dan twisted the doorknob more violently. "Two erasers," He called over his shoulder, "Break down the door." Truence felt a small spike of fear dig through him as he practically felt the erasers form into their stronger, more vicious form. They pushed and pulled and scratched at the door for a long time until they both were foaming at the mouth and dreaming of sinking their teeth into Truence's flesh.

"The door was made to keep me in here, do you really think they'll be able to get in?" Truence mocked, positioning himself in the highest corner across from the door. He dug his claws into the metal wall and propped himself up between the wall and ceiling. He used on of his clawed wings to hang himself from the ceiling as the other once pounded and scratched holes in the wall. He fought the pain as he dug into the metal until he hit a bunch of wires and insulation in the wall. He slashed as many wires as he could and felt his vision clear as some of the hallway lights flickered out. He ignored the panicked shouts and noise that came from hallway outside his door as he worked to tear up the wall.

"Just get the door open! Now!" Dan shouted to the rest of the erasers and soon they were all clambering to get through each other to the door. Truence hung himself directly over the door. He stabbed two holes in the metal in the ceiling and clung to them, the torn metal cutting into his hands. Finally, Truence kicked the metal pole away from the door and it flung open, one eraser still on top of it. The rest backed off at the command of the scientists. Before the one in the room could escape, Truence let out a deafening screech that hurt even his ears, and grabbed the eraser with his wings. He passed the creature from his wings to one of his hands, his remaining hand feeling the metal bend from the weight of him and the eraser.

He ended the eraser's life with a quick slash to the neck, the blood dripping down onto his hand where Truence held it. After he was dead Truence slashed at him brutally letting pieces of flesh and blood fall down in the doorway. Once he was done, Truence didn't know whether to be proud or feel disgusted. He let the hardly identifiable body fall to the ground below him and listened as some of the scientists gasped in horror.

"What are you waiting for? Go in and get him, but don't hurt him." Dan ordered his voice shaking slightly. Truence readied himself as he watched the shadows of three erasers enter the room. They started to examine the gaping hole in the wall across the door.

"Sir, he's escaped through the wall." One of the erasers said, pulling back some of the metal and wires. Gathering all his remaining energy, Truence darted out of the door, still clinging to the ceiling. The scientists screamed as he grabbed one of them and started to fly down one of the halls with him. The erasers started after him and were gaining ground until he stopped the panicked scientist from thrashing by slamming him against and then dragging him against one of the walls in the hallway. Truence struggled to fly as the erasers caught up to him. As one jumped up to him he threw the unconscious scientist at him and the erasers, so caught up in the hunt, started to tear at him. As the other erasers saw the first one attack a body the rest of them started and before they knew it a feeding frenzy had begun. Truence flew silently down the halls and corridors in the lab until he felt a cool breeze from the ceiling. He circled around it until he found the exact location.

_The vents. _He thought and smiled. He wiped his forehead with his wrist and quickly regretted it. The sweat dripped down into his sliced wrists and stung badly. He rested for a short while in the small vent and examined his wrists. They still bled over his arms and he realized how much blood he had lost. He had been relying off adrenaline this whole time and now that it had worn off he felt very weak and nauseous. He felt the small vent spin around him and held his head to keep conscious.

_No…wake up…stay focused…_Truence begged himself. He shook his head and forced himself to move on down the metal halls. He moved as quietly as possible at first but after twenty minutes he was working on moving at all. He tried to steady his erratic breathing and concentrated only on that. Soon he smelled and felt the sweet relief of cool night air. Truence missed the smell and feel of flying in the black bliss of the night. The familiar scent gave him hope and he crept down the vents as fast as he could. He almost desperately punched out the screen vent out, freeing himself from the tiny metal halls. He flung himself out of the new hole in the wall and opened his wings as wide as he could.

He accidentally let himself fall in the pure pleasure of flight. As soon as he realized this he pumped his wings heavily, getting as high in the air as possible. Within seconds he was shivering in the cool air. He struggled in flight for an hour; going as fast as his underused wings could carry him. He tried to avoid the cold and pain in his wrists that now pulsed through his whole body. He thought of how his plan had worked almost perfectly, the 'almost' being him losing too much blood and being as weak as he was now. Showing mercy to himself, he let himself fall into a tall tree in a forest he barely recognized. He did know that he had been flown over it in a helicopter when Dan and the scientists at the lab had taken him.

He slumped down on the highest branch that would support his weight. He had slept in trees before when Aven and him had gone out to get more supplies from trailers and tents. They occasionally went on overnight trips for special stuff like their radio, which they learned practically everything from. For a few minutes he argued within himself over whether he should keep flying so he could get to Aven sooner but eventually decided that he should rest so he can live long enough to get back to the cave. He had no idea what the bird kids were going to do, if they were even still there.

He quietly shook the thoughts from his head and dug his claws into the branch. If he did fall, his wings would hopefully stop him, or at least slow the fall. He shut his eyes and only could see the picture of Aven in the bird boy's arms, covered in blood. Now the tables had been turned, or were at least even. He was in a tree half bleed to death. Not good. Finally, his exhaustion took over and he was knocked into a coma-like sleep. He was haunted by terrible dreams of him being swallowed by tornadoes of blood and gore. He wasn't too worried about that though, more of what would happen to Aven after his death. She still didn't know where he went, what happened to him. He squinted away dream after dream until he finally found a peaceful sleep as the sun rose behind him.

_Author's Note: _Yup, gore, gore, and more gore. Actually, it's not that bad but sorry if it got to some of you. Let me know what you think!


	14. Chapter 13

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 13_

Truence was jolted awake by the rushing sensation of falling. He let out a short yell as his wings stopped his fall; pain shooting up his spine from his nearly dislocated wings. He sat there for a moment letting the pain subside and nearly passed out from the lack of blood. As he blacked out he heard a scraping sound and felt his wings come free.

_What? No it sounded so far away…_ was his only thought as his body refused to obey the reflexes his mind ordered it. He shouted and thrashed violently as he fell thirty feet to the ground. His body slammed to the ground with full force. His head felt heavy as he tried to raise it. For a moment he could only comprehend the pain but then his memory came back. He was out of the lab, in a tree, and he just fell out of it. He tensed as he remembered another detail about his fall. He had heard a scream besides his own.

"_What the f-"_ a voice had shouted as he fell. Even as he thought of it another voice came to his ears. He had fallen right on a hiking trail.

"Dude, what the hell is that?" A teenage boy's voice said. Truence opened his eyes and saw only the shadows of two boys about his age standing about ten feet from him, edging closer every second. He forced himself to at least sit up and the boys backed off slightly. He tried to stretch out his wings and could with a considerable amount of pain.

_There's no way I'm gonna be able to fly… I can't…_He thought, trying to stand up. He felt one of his knees give out beneath him as he put his weight on it, causing him to fall onto them. The boys looked from each other to Truence with confused, slightly frightened faces. He tried again with his other leg, the one he hadn't fallen on and he stood up. He still felt wobbly but sent a deathly glare to the boys anyway. They both stopped moving, mid-breath and their eyes widened. The one closest to him started to speak and Truence tensed, making both of them jump.

Truence didn't blame them for being scared; seeing him was the equivalent of having a man-eating tiger, covered in blood, fall from a tree right in front of you. He fell himself tilt and struggle to keep his balance. He headed toward the tree he had just fallen from and leaned on it heavily.

"Do… do you need help?" One of the boys asked him timidly. Truence sighed. _I could still probably kill both of them if they got close enough. _They already had seen him, which is bad enough, but they had seen him at his weakest moment, which meant they cannot live. He listened the other boy sifted through his pack. He heard the slosh of a water bottle and the sound of a plastic bag full of food. They set them both down on the rock and turned to go.

"Thank you." He said almost silently without looking at them. He heard them stop and look at him once more before leaving with quick steps. He just hoped they didn't have a camera. He guess the boys knew that they were pretty lucky not to get hurt, they were really lucky to get away alive. If they had gotten any closer Truence knew he would have killed them. Even if he didn't want to, he would have had to kill them. He never really wanted to kill anyone except the demons at the lab. He just had to. After he was sure the boys were far away, he slowly wobbled unsteadily over to the rock and inspected everything they had given him with his hands. There was a water bottle, a bag of trail mix, and, something he hadn't heard them leave, a sweater. He knew he would never wear it; it interfered with whatever he did, he could make it into bandages for his wrist, though.

He felt his wrists, he had landed on his right side when he fell and now the wrist on that side was bleeding again. He pulled the hood off the sweatshirt and wetted it with the water. He gently dabbed at his wrists and the rest of him that was covered in blood then started with the bandages. He ripped off the bottom of the torso and tore it into one long strip. Doing as best he could with one hand, he wound it around his right wrist and tied it, doing the same with the other. Afterward, his cuts stung slightly but he was glad he got to clean and bandage them.

_Now what to do…_He couldn't fly, or see for that matter. So he couldn't go to Aven, he couldn't hide in a tree, he was too weak to do anything. He probably couldn't even walk in the direction toward the cave, not without being able to see. He circled around the tree and inspected the back of it. There wasn't enough coverage for him to hide behind it. He ventured into the woods, going slowly, inspecting everything with his hands and seeing only their shadows. Finally, he found an upturned tree and sat in the small crevice between its roots and the ground. He curled up to make himself as invisible as possible, though, he doubted he would be seen. His restless mind was soon shut down by the pain that filled his body.

A rustle in the leaves soon brought him out of sleep again. He shot up and put all his senses to work. _A coyote…He smelled the blood,_ He sighed as he heard it creep closer to him. He looked up, tracing the coyote's path with his sightless eyes, then let out a loud shriek that was half human scream, half the cry of an angered animal. The coyote was gone before his scream was done echoing through the woods. He slumped back down against the knotted roots and ate some of the trail mix the boys had given them. He tried stretching out his wings again and could with some pain but it wasn't as bad as the night before. He still doubted he could fly; he'd have to stay here and rest for another day.

He couldn't pull himself into sleep any longer; worry and frantic planning had replaced his exhaustion. He thought of what could happen to him; anyone could find him, a hiker, an animal, an eraser. He was at a loss of what to do if anything happened. He could move now but probably not fly for more that a few hundred feet, not near far enough to get away from anything that would make him want to run.

Near dusk he heard something in the woods. He concentrated on his hearing and recognized the timid footsteps of the two boys he had seen before. Now that his vision was starting to come back, he considered talking to them. He crept silently in their direction, being careful to keep himself hidden, and saw them both for the first time. The first one was taller and had a fairly strong build that could have actually stood a chance against Truence yesterday in the condition he was in. The second one was slimmer, shorter, and seeming smarter, looking to not like the idea of creeping up on a bloody killer mutant.

_Well, they came to see a monster… lets give them a show…_Truence thought a smile pulling at his face. He waited as the boys neared the fallen tree where he had hidden and as soon as they were close enough started at a dead silent run straight for the end of the tree. He flung himself in the air as he passed directly in front of the first boy and landed squatting on the balled roots of the tree, facing the boys. They both froze, their widened eyes staying on Truence as he let out a loud, fierce screech. Truence made sure to show off his elongated canines to them, but kept as much of his face covered by his shoulder-length black hair, stretching his deep brown wings out as far as he could. To his surprise the boys didn't run, though the second one looked like he could pass out any second.

"What do you want?" Truence demanded, masking his voice with an animal-like scratch to his voice. The first boy just stood there slightly paler than when he had first entered the woods, the other pale as a ghost and clinging to a tree for support.

"We… wanted to see if you were still here… alive…" The first one squeaked. Truence hopped off the end of the tree and stood up taller that the first one by almost three inches. Whether by bravery or by being to terrified to move the boy stood his ground as Truence approached him.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Truence said letting the animal's part in his voice fade to a normal person's. He turned his back to them, still listening to any move they made. They were too small to be erasers but Truence found it hard to trust anyone, even himself.

"What… who are you?" The boy asked, his voice quivering. Truence stopped where he was and stood for a moment before quickly flicking his unfurled wings. He almost smiled as he heard the first boy jump back, knocking the other one down with a yelp.

"What does it matter to you two?" He said turning around quickly, letting a hint of rage flow into his voice. The boys looked at each other.

_Humans…_He sighed. Why is it that they cared about you when you want to be left alone but when you really need help they could care less about what pain your in, they just want to find out statistics about it.

"What do you want?" Truence asked again, his voice now full of rage, his canines on full display. "Did you want to see a beast?" He yelled his animal scream entering his already fierce voice. "Do you want to see a killer? An animal? A monster?" Truence screamed now, his words ending in a horrible scream of an injured animal. He rushed the first boy and grabbed him by the neck, hauling him up to Truence's level. "You see these hands, this blood. I've killed before." He whispered to the first boy, staring him directly in the eye.

"Please… no!" The boy coughed between guttural gasps and gurgles. The second boy, if possible, was even paler than before and just watched in horror.

"You've come to see power. I could've killed you before your brain could have even run the picture of me through your head." He whispered in a hard, raspy voice. He then threw the boy into the trunk of a small tree next to the other one. "A life for a life, you save mine, I spare yours." He said and turned to fly off. A quiet beep stopped him in his tracks. He turned back to see the smaller boy with a small walky-talky, frantically pushing the buttons and fumbling around with it while passing glances between it, his friend, and Truence. Truence flew just above the ground to the boy and slammed him against a tree, grabbing the device as he held the boy to the tree by the neck.

"What is this?"

"Please, don't hurt me! Let me go! Please!" The boy screamed, thrashing violently.

"What is this?" Truence demanded again, pushing hard on the boy's throat. He gasped slightly and tried to speak; Truence loosened his grip.

"A transmitter. A walky-talky." He stuttered. Truence let him fall to the ground and crushed the walk-talky in his hand. He jumped up into flight and flew as quickly as his sore wings could take him.

"This is why I don't like humans." Truence mumbled to himself as he flew away. He only got about five hundred feet before having to land in another tall tree. He'd climb down before he went to sleep this time.

_Author's Note:_ Wow, this is a long chapter with lots of action so I hope you like it! Leave a review and let me know!


	15. Chapter 14

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 14_

I smiled as I listened to Iggy and Fang spar. I couldn't believe it; I was actually enjoying myself. I gave a concerned look as I heard Fang's breath get knocked out of him.

"That was a cheap shot," He said. I briefly wondered what Iggy did that could be wrong in a fight; there are no rules as long as I was fighting.

"I'm blind, I can take cheap shots." Iggy said stubbornly. Iggy had offered to spar with me but I didn't feel like I was up to it yet. Max made me clean my shoulder again with that stupid antiseptic crap, only making the pain revive itself all over again. Fang had mumbled something about me getting an infection and my arm rotting off if I didn't. I don't really know if he wanted me to hear that or not. They had to learn that the only way to keep me from hearing something is to not even say it.

It really surprised me how smart they all were. They said they learned almost everything from books, television, and the internet. We only had a radio that got four stations, none of which were remotely educational.

"So, what do you do for food around here?" Max asked me around noon. It only occurred to me then that I hadn't eaten anything for almost two days now.

"Besides stealing it? There might be a few things in there." I said pointing to the storage area. "Probably not enough for all of us, but I don't need to eat." Without another word she started digging through the pile and found a small package of precooked hotdogs, a bag of trail mix, and some bottles of water.

"Anywhere to start a fire around here?" Iggy asked after Max handed him the hotdogs.

"Out on the ledge to the right there's a little hole in the rock, you can start one there but don't make it too big. The park rangers are looking for smoke in case of forest fires." I instructed. Iggy walked quickly away from the cave, emitting a feeling that guaranteed he had a smile on his face.

"Just don't fall off a cliff!" Max called after him.

"That's what I have wings for!" He responded from around the corner.

"Iggy's starting the fire?" I asked quietly once he had gotten farther away.

"Iggy is a pyromaniac." Fang stated from the corner he hadn't moved from almost all day.

"Fang, can you find the rest of the flock? I think they're out on the ledge with Iggy trying to climb rocks." Fang mumble a yeah and started out the cave. I listened carefully to his footsteps; he was limping a little and let out a tiny huff of air every time he stepped with his left foot. I turned to Max as soon as I lost track of him.

"Did I hurt him yesterday? I know I meant to at the time but I feel kind of bad about it now." I asked her, almost feeling ashamed of myself. A pause indicated Max's surprise at my question.

"I don't… he's fine." She said with slight confusion in her voice. "Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah," I said calmly, "I want to get some real food anyway." I stated, pulling myself up and stretching out my wings.

"You can fly already?" She asked. Just then Nudge came into the cave walking in fast small steps and whispered to Max. I lightly rolled my eyes and let another smile spread across my face.

"What do you do for a bathroom around here?" Max asked me quietly. I heard Gazzy and Iggy laughing from the ledge.

"What? I can just go on a bush like you can!" Nudge said stubbornly placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, I guess I'll have to see if I can fly now." I said excitedly. A smile lit my face as I ran and jumped off the edge of the cliff, extending my wings at the absolute last moment. I hovered in place only twenty feet from the ground. I quickened the rhythm of my wings and swooped back up to the ledge. Silence met me there.

"I'll take you there. Then I can clean up to and you guys can eat lunch. Then I'll show you how we really work." I said confidently. I kept my wings extended letting them guide me through my cave. They were just long enough for my wing hands to touch the ground when I was standing. I quickly collected some new clothes, my brush, and a bar of soap and jumped off the cliff again to take off. In less than ten minutes we were there.

I couldn't see it now, but I knew how the small abandoned brick restrooms looked. I was the first to land and I listened intently for any signs of nearby life. Max, Nudge, and Angel were soon to follow as I lead them to the tiny building.

"You don't have to worry about people here, this has been abandoned for years and the nearest hiking trail is half a mile away." I quickly jammed one of my claws into the lock on the girls' side of the building, and opened the door. From in here you could see where part of the roof had caved in. Truence and I had fixed it the first year we were here. Each of them took a stall and I waited outside gazing at what little of me I could see in the mirror. I caught Max as she started to follow the younger girls out.

"I'm gonna take a shower and I'm probably going to be a while 'cause I have to wash my clothes too." I looked down at my once white tank top. "Don't worry about me if I stay out here for a long time." I said trying to sound as earnest as I could. "Once I get back you guys can take a shower if you want to."

"Okay," She said and swiftly left after the girls. Once I was satisfied that they were far away, I let my true feelings release from me. I almost collapsed down onto the sink in exhaustion. I forced myself to wobble over to the lightly frosted windows and pull down the cloth shades Truence and I had set up, at least I could see then. I wobbled my way back to the mirror and almost gasped at my reflection. I was so pale. I had virtually no color in my skin at all. I quickly stripped and examined the bruises scattered throughout my body. None of them were terribly severe but I was still aching and terribly weak.

I finally got into the shower that was just past the stalls and let the warm water pour over me. It felt amazing. Unfortunately, it only stayed slightly above air temperature; even before this hadn't been abandoned it didn't get hot water. Now since it was barely ever used the water was warmer from sitting in the underground pipes for so long. I leaned against the cool tiles, not minding the shiver it sent through my skin. The water stung the stitches in my arm as it secretly hid my tears. My last secret from them was slowly killing me.

_Author's Note:_ Ha ha! More suspense! I'll try to update again soon since I haven't in such a long time!


	16. Chapter 15

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 15_

"So, Angel, you picking up anything from her?" I asked from mid-air.

"Not much, I think she could still be keeping a secret from us, though." Angel said calmly, her pure white wings beating to keep rhythm with Nudge and I. I looked at her seriously.

"Any idea what it involves?" I asked somewhat impatient with how unconcerned Angel seemed.

"I don't know… she seems really sad about it though."

_Truence…_I thought. I sort of knew how she felt about him; I was finding she was a lot like me. _Stubborn, fights till I can't any longer…we are a lot alike. _I almost smiled at the thought but then remembered the shaky situation we were in. We didn't even know who or where this Truence guy was. I was shocked to find myself uncomfortable with thinking about him like that.

_Truence and Aven were like Fang and me…no one knows each other better and our lives would end if we were ever separated…_I felt my stomach turn at the thought… _God, what would I do without Fang? _We arrived back at the cave before any further questions came to my mind. Iggy had a fire going and was putting the sticks Gazzy brought him in a meticulous pattern in the fire. Fang was slouched by the edge of the cave wall overseeing their work and snacking on the trail mix. I still felt slightly guilty about Aven's questions about him before. I couldn't believe I never even asked if he was okay… Angel and Nudge went and started finding sticks with Iggy, swooping down and coming back up with armfuls of dead branches.

"You left her alone?" Fang's voice asked from next to me.

"Yeah, she doesn't seem too threatening, she looked like she was in a lot of pain flying out to the bathrooms." I said watching Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel fly gracefully up and down, dive-bombing the twigs below them. "You seem kind of out of it; you all right after yesterday?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stiff; she's just about as strong as you." Somehow that comment didn't sit well with me, but what a surprise: Fang was remaining mysterious yet again. He really needs to break this strong, silent type regime. Fang must have noticed my silence because he continued, "I said 'just about' not 'as strong as'. She hasn't been taught to fight very well. I'm pretty sure she just improvises the whole thing."

"Well she hasn't said anything about fighting erasers like we do, she just has less people to fight." _Wait a minute… was I just defending her? I _am_ going crazy aren't I? _"She said she'd show us how she gets food out here once she got back. Do we want to know?" I asked, changing the subject.

"That is a good question." He said standing upright. Iggy called to the kids to get sticks to cook the hotdogs on and they all returned within seconds with long sticks and Fang started handing out hotdogs.

"Here Max." Angel said handing me a stick, Gazzy brought one for Iggy, and Nudge brought one for Fang. We sat cooking our hotdogs; I stretched my wings out into the bright afternoon sun, my mind buzzing with all the unanswered questions and possibilities of the day. After continuous thought I had made my decision.

"Okay, guys, Aven has offered to show us how she survives out here but I'm not sure I want all of us to go just in case something were to happen." The entire flock knew exactly what I meant. Only Fang and I could go and Iggy would be in charge while we were gone. The Gasman immediately began to pout and Nudge crossed her arms over her chest as Iggy rolled his eyes at me, Angel did nothing but I could see sadness in her big blue eyes. "I'm sorry guys but it's a lot easier hiding three people rather than seven. I just don't want anything to happen to any of you. Besides, then maybe we can get some more food." As I expected none of them argued but I could tell Iggy sure wanted to. The only reason he never got to go on any of these trips was because of the whitecoats blinding him, and we needed someone to look after the younger kids while we were gone.

"We'll leave when she gets back, and we shouldn't be gone too long." I said and got up and went back into the cave tapping the back of Fang's hand as I did, he was in charge for a while. I had barely slept at all the night before. I kept a very close eye on Aven incase she tried anything in the middle of the night. Everyone else, including Aven, had slept like rocks. I laid down in the shade and let my eyes flutter shut knowing I would never fall asleep with all the thought running in my mind. I swear, if I ever had a normal day, I'd probably freak out.

_Author's Note:_ Yes, that last line is property of James Patterson. Hope you like this chapter the next ones are coming up very soon.


	17. Chapter 16

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 16_

After relaxing under the cool water of the shower I forced myself out of it. I cleaned my bloodied clothes and left them hanging over the stall doors to dry while I put on my new ones. I crept out of the door and locked it behind me. I flew silently just bellow the leaves of the trees but high enough to be above the heads of any humans I might encounter. I knew this place by heart and darted between the branches. I wasn't worried about the flock seeing me; even if they found out I was gone they would never be able to find me in this forest. My last secret fueled my mission.

I silenced my thoughts and focused on listening for campers. I landed as I approached one of the easiest campsites to steal from. I stopped behind a tree and listened. It was about noon and the family that inhabited the RV in the clearing was just getting ready for lunch. There were four of them; the mother, father, an almost 18-year-old daughter, and a 16-year-old son… from my estimate. Everyone except the father was in the RV arguing about why they had to come here instead of going to Florida and how they didn't want to go outside.

_City slickers… _I sighed, rolling my eyes. I listened as the father dug through their cooler and took out a package of steak. I had to cling to the bark of the tree just to keep myself from running out there in plain daylight and taking the meat from him. He started up the small grill that had come cemented to the ground with the small campsite. He opened the plastic wrapping a set it down on the picnic table and cursed at his empty bag of charcoal.

I gasped as he started in my direction. I dug my wings into the highest branch on the tree that I could reach and yanked myself up as he walked past me, picking up sticks and twigs along the way. I let a sharp breath of air out and squatted on the tree branch as I folded in my wings. I really shouldn't be moving this much already, flying alone caused enough pain to make me feel light headed and weak. I lightly traced the stitches on my shoulder to make sure I hadn't ripped any of them open. By some miracle I hadn't. I crawled across the branches of the tree until I was on the opposite side and quietly dropped myself down.

I listened as the man did a circle around the campsite, slowly moving away from me. The mother and kids were still in the RV. I smiled as I slipped closer to the table and in one quick movement raked the steak off the table into my arms with my wings and sprinted off into the woods. I flung myself into a tree with a small flap of my wings and smiled at the cool meat in my hands. I squeezed it and let the blood flow into my mouth. You see Max and the flock had forgotten one thing to ask: what kind of bat-human hybrid both Truence and I were.

_Vampire bats._ I thought, smiling and letting my bloody canines show. We needed blood and raw meat to survive. Our stomachs couldn't digest other foods without its nutrients. Our entire system would slowly shut down without it and, from what I've experienced in the past few days, it would be a terrible way to die. It's best for us if we have raw meat or blood every day and we needed it at least every two days before our bodies start shutting down one organ at a time. I had gone two and a half days and it certainly felt like it. After finishing my snack I returned to the bathrooms and cleaned all the dried blood off my face and brought my clothes back to the cave where the flock waited for me, seeming very bored. Before I could say anything Fang walked into the cave and tapped Max's shoulder. I listened as she got up, shutting my eyes to concentrate on their voices better.

_Either my hearing is going or they're speaking a different language…great…_I thought dully. They both came up to me and I felt the slightly heated gaze of the rest of the flock as Max started to speak.

"Only Fang and I are coming. How long will this take?" She asked easily ignoring the flock's stare.

"Not more than half an hour." I said feeling awkward. I never had anyone stare at me like that ever; it felt so weird.

"You here that guys? Iggy you're in charge." Iggy mumbled 'yeah' and turned back to the small fire. I felt relieved as I dived off the cliff out of sight of the flocks gaze. I stayed only feet above the trees as we soared on the air currents. We flew down just above the trees until I reached a small clearing and swiftly dove down through it and hovered just below the canopy. I listened, Max and Fang were still above me. I looked down to their shadows; their wings were too long to fit through to hole in the leaves.

Their bird wings were longer and thinner than mine at around fourteen feet. Mine were about eleven but almost five feet wide when fully stretched. Truence was bigger than all of them by quite a bit. His wings were almost thirteen feet long and he stood two inches taller than Fang and half a foot taller than me. The only reason Truence could dart around below the trees like I could was he could maintain a solid speed while folding his wings in slightly. It was an amazing feat for someone his size. We couldn't go as fast as Max, Fang, or Iggy could but we could turn stop and maneuver faster. I shook out my thoughts and landed on the top branch of a tree where Max and Fang could see me.

"Um… You guys can't fly down here can you?" I asked biting the inside of my cheek.

"Not really." Fang replied with little enthusiasm.

"Okay… fly above me and I'll signal when we have to land." I said spinning around and launching myself out of the tree. I loved flying just under the leaves of the trees. It was always so quiet and calm, yet exciting to dodge and skim through all the branches. I pulled my wings in quickly as I rushed between two branches of a tree then whipped them out and kept flapping. I started to focus less on flying and more on listening for hikers and campers as we approached the paths and campgrounds. I flew over a path and waved my hand through the leaves of the trees to signal for Max and Fang to land. They landed in the middle of the path and I quickly waved them over into a patch of forest between it and some of the campgrounds.

I smiled as I heard the family in the RV now all arguing about why they came here instead of going to Florida. I was really going to mess with these people's minds now… that is, if Max will let me. I stopped about fifty feet from the RV and turned to face Max and Fang who were silent behind me. I had to give them credit; I didn't think they could move as quietly as they had been so far.

"Do you want me to just get lunch or… show you what we can do?" I asked, my voice almost being overridden by the wind against the leaves it was so quiet. Max and Fan looked at each other and without words made a decision.

"Just do what you do normally." Max said in a whisper. I tried to stop the smile that spread across my face as I nodded to them and turned around.

"Okay." I said quietly. The blood and meat had given me my strength and energy back which made me feel bold and almost untouchable to anyone, even the flock.

_They came with me to see what we do, so lets give them something to remember. _I thought, almost feeling the adrenaline start to pump into my veins as I crouched at the edge of the campsite. _This was going to be fun. _

_Author's Note: _Yay! I finally updated! Sorry it took so long but I think this and the next chapter will make up for it! Evilness to come next time!


	18. Chapter 17

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 17_

Truence was jolted awake by a single flash of an image; Aven smiling, a terrifying animal-like scream streaming through her lips. As his head cleared of the drowsiness of the day before, he swore he could have heard Aven's voice echoing through the woods around him. Thankfully he hadn't slept in a tree again and had instead found a dead pine tree to sleep in. He crept to the inside, which was bare of needles and had only a few large branches in the middle.

He felt weak but it wasn't because his body was beaten and torn down. He needed blood. The lab had supplied him with a cup a day, which is more than he could ever get out with Aven. By all rights it should have made him stronger but it actually made it worse. Blood to them was almost like a drug, an addiction. The more you get of it, the more crave it, and the more your body gets used to it; which made it all the harder to receive less and less every day. The only difference was that if they didn't get it they died.

Truence was terrified as a thought forced it's way into his head; what about Aven? She had no way to get blood in the shape she was in, if she was even still alive. _No, she _is_ alive, _Truence told himself. He paused, focusing on everything around him and listening for any movement. It was late noon and he couldn't see far beyond the shade of the pine tree. After hearing nothing, he started to slide himself out of the tree. The skin on his wrists felt tight when he moved them as the wound tried to heal itself. Aven and Truence healed faster than humans but that was only if they were still pretty healthy. Truence had barely been alive after fighting with those boys yesterday in the woods.

Rest had restored his energy but not his strength. He needed blood and the next animal to cross his path was to be the donor. He stretched out his wings as far as he could and felt some of the tension in them melt away. The past few days he had worked his wings harder than he ever had in the lab and it felt surprisingly good. He could fly today. The only problem was that he couldn't see and was unfamiliar with this area in the woods. He and Aven never came out this far; he never let them. Truence started walking slowly, letting his wings feel around him as if a completely different part of him. They traced the world around him and he carefully mapped it out in his head.

He stopped when he heard his foot hit a different patch of ground and reached his clawed wings down to scoop up some of the gravel beneath him. He had found the walking trail. He rolled the stones in his hands while contemplating on what to do. He could probably fly along the trail and make quicker time but more humans could have a chance of seeing him. He stretched his wings out, quickly examining the path he was on and determining which way it went. He ran down the trail and jumped, flapping his wings quickly yet silently.

He just wanted to see Aven again and would do anything to get himself there quicker. He rose up to just below the canopy of the trees and let his wings brush against their leaves, navigating him along the trail. Flying felt amazing but he had to stay focused. He had encountered humans already on this trip and didn't want to meet any more. He shook away his worries and thought of how he could hear a human in the woods from almost a mile away. Especially hikers, with their backpacks and heavy boots, he could find them easily.

Someone like that wouldn't stand a chance against him. He needed blood and he needed it soon. Truence thought briefly on whether he could take a human's life like that. He had before but that was only if they threatened him or Aven. A stab of pain in his back reminded him of a man they had seen in the woods. The only time someone had ever surprised them like that. He had attacked Truence with a knife and had stabbed him in the back hard before Aven got him away from him. That had been the only time she had killed and Truence knew inside it really hurt her. He could kill easily as long as he was provoked to, and not have much guilt about it but Aven wasn't quite able to numb that pain of taking a life.

Truence sighed quietly. He just wanted to see Aven again. He hadn't seen her for so long, all because of the demons in the lab. _No, _Truence thought, _I'm the demon. I am the very thing they worked so hard to make and now have to put up with. They can't contain me. No one can. _Rage boiled up inside Truence and he felt his wings beat faster with the anger. He took a deep breath and slowed down, trying to gain control over himself. _I can barely control myself... _Truence pulled his wings in suddenly and skidded to a halt. The light padding of feet he had heard also stopped seconds later. Truence smelled the air and knew by the scent and the quiet flick of a tail what exactly was standing in front of him; the coyote from a few nights ago. He took a step forward and heard the animal start to flee. He let out a screech of excitement and anger and started chasing after the small dog. It growled at him once he was flying almost directly above it. He dove down and ended the coyote's life before he could make to much noise and now he became a beast; feasting on the animal's blood.

He felt empowered by the fluid after he had bled the dog dry. He stood up proudly, feeling like nothing could get him down now, tomorrow, he would have Aven with him, in his arms like they always had been before. Having nothing to rely on except for each other had made them both very strong but both very dependant on each other. Once they had been torn apart neither of them could function completely without each other. Truence knew he had it easy though, Aven had to depend totally on herself now, after living under Truence's protection. Truence winced away the thought of Aven scared, alone, and hurt because he wasn't there. He forced himself to fly faster, knowing he was risking his own life yet again. He swore to himself that he would find Aven before nighttime tomorrow. They would no longer be alone.


	19. Chapter 18

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 18_

I waited patiently, listening intently to my prey as they moved around the RV. Finally all four were in a good position for me to make my move. I leapt out through the bush I was behind and took only a few more steps before soaring up to the large tinted window on the side of the RV. My weight hitting the vehicle caused it to wobble once as I peered in through the window. As I landed I used my wings to cover up whole window, blocking most of the light that could get in the RV. I clung to the side of it by the bars on the top as I let out a loud, half-animal shriek that ended with a hiss.

I could sense the panic and adrenaline rise in the vehicle when they heard me. There was a small table with a bench built into the wall on either side, just under the window, where the brother and sister were sitting across from each other. They both jumped on my impact against the side of the RV and now, realizing something was out there, slowly slid away from the window while never taking their eyes off me. I heard the mother and father rush to the middle of the RV from opposite directions, wondering what the sound was. I leaned closer to the window, letting them see how my breath steamed it up. The girl let out a gasp and shakily jumped up from the bench.

I took my right wing and dragged my claws along the glass slowly, leaving behind an echo of the terrible sound in the forest and five large scratches in the glass. The girl screamed and backed into her mother who stood silently behind her. I fed off their fear and panic and finally couldn't hold back any longer. I took my right wing and jammed my claws into the glass as far as I could without shattering it then pulled back on the entire window until it exploded outward and the entire family inside screamed. I let out another loud shriek and crawled in through the window, clinging to the ceiling like a spider by digging my claws into the cheaply made walls. The boy and his father were on the side of the RV with the door and both quickly fled through it. I listened to their footsteps as they stopped and turned back after getting only ten feet from the vehicle. The daughter and mother screamed and started weeping and I chased them to the very back of the RV blocking the hall with my outspread wings. I purposely made my movements jerky and pained to heighten their terror.

The girl and her mother clung to each other as they scrambled in the back of the RV where there were two bunk beds. They cowered in the bottom bed pushing against the back wall in a futile attempt to escape me. In all the excitement I didn't hear the father and son come back in, one with a baseball bat and the other a golf club. The father advanced, swinging the club at me but clearly to far away to actually hit me. I turned my back on the mother and daughter, figuring they were too scared to try anything. I stood up tall making my movements eerily elegant and terrifying all at once. I sucked in a huge breath of air and let it out as a horribly loud scream that made even my own ears hurt and then before the two even had enough time to react, I lunged at them.

I crouched behind a bush, hidden from the destruction happening before my eyes. Fang was also next to me silent with whatever emotion was in his head. I could never tell. I listened to the echo of Aven's screams and shrieks as they bounced around the forest. The RV would shake every few seconds and I couldn't help but wonder what was happening. _Maybe, I don't want to know. _I thought hearing the people inside scream.

"What's going on in there?" I whispered to Fang, keeping my eyes locked on the vehicle. After getting no response I looked to Fang, he looked like he was in a daze, almost hypnotized by the scene before him. "Fang?" I asked again. Finally he broke out of his trance when the boy and his father burst out of the door and started toward the forest. I fell silent and readied myself if we would need to run. They stopped only a few feet from us and the father led his son to the front of the RV where they gathered a bat and a golf club and went back in.

"Do you think we should do something?" I asked Fang, "She's still hurt… she might need help." Fang finally looked back at me and shook his head.

"No, I think she can hold her own." As he finished his sentence another chillingly loud shriek escaped the RV. I was surprised to find myself hoping that she was alright and let my eyes fall back onto the vehicle as it bounced around with the scuffle inside.

I was careful with the move I made, using both my wings to knock the weapons out of their hands. I knocked both of them down and crouched over them, spreading my wings so all they could see was me. I slid my claws across the boy's neck as he sucked in quick short breaths. His father pulled himself up and started digging around franticly through the drawers and cabinets of the RV. The boy leaned up and struggled to get away. I slammed him back down against the floor and let out a hiss in his warning. Finally the father stood up and pointed something at me. A gun.

My breath stopped for a second and I froze, pausing to think of how to get myself out of this situation. I let out another short shriek and darted past the man, purposely pushing his hand up so he couldn't aim at me. I tore out of the RV's door and started running out, preparing to fly away but stopped in my tracks as I watched a shadow cruise down into the clearing and land in the middle of it.

"Aven?" Asked the voice belonging to the shadow.

"Iggy!" I heard Max shout from just outside the clearing. The man burst out of the RV and pointed the gun at me then Iggy. Max tried to jump into the clearing but Fang held her back, and mumbled something about all of us getting shot. The man started walking towards Iggy, cocking the gun, with it aimed straight at him. I threw myself between Iggy and the gun, thrusting the gun up and away from both of us with my arm as the man pulled he trigger. The blast temporarily deafened me and I couldn't hear myself as I sucked in a quick breath in pain. The bullet had missed me but my arm had been on the gun as it went off and it burned the skin where I hit it.

"Iggy, get out of here!" I mumbled to him. He started to open his mouth to protest when Fang swooped in and literally scooped him up under the arms, throwing him in the air so he'd start flying. When I looked up Max was already up ahead of them looking over her shoulder to make sure they got away safely. I turned back to the man just as he regained his composure and set his sights on me. From behind him I could see the boy looking out at us through the newly broken RV door. The man cocked the gun for another shot and I stood there, unwillingly hesitating to move or think. I finally snapped out of it, backing up slowly, feeling my way around with my feet.

_This would be a really good time for Max or Fang to swoop in and save _meI thought to myself. The last time I'd been in this situation Truence was with me and he saved me. _He's not here! You have to stand up for yourself now! _Stuck in my thoughts I started concentrating less on where I was going. I was transported back to reality as I tripped and fell on my bad shoulder. I stayed on the ground and tried to squeeze the pain out of my wound. _Damn it! I can't take much more of this! _I thought angrily. I attempted to convert all my pain, frustration, and sadness into anger and felt the rage build up inside of me. The anger fueled me as I got back up staring straight down the barrel of the man's gun. His hands and knees were shaking but I could almost see chills go down his spine when he caught the look in my eyes.

I wouldn't have been surprised if he could have seen the rage seething out of me at that moment. He made the mistake of turning away from me to look back at the RV. I gave him a quick high kick to the chest and he snatched away his gun while holding him down with my foot and one of my wings. I glanced back up at the RV where the man's wife was holding a cell phone to here ear and frantically trying to describe their location as her daughter cried behind her. I jumped up and gave my wings one strong pump to charge back up to the RV.

"Oh my God, it's coming back!" The woman screamed into the phone as I approached. Her son tried to stand in my way but I grabbed him by the shirt with my claws and through him down the stairs and out of the RV. I heard him run over to his father and start weeping in fear and frustration. I then pulled myself up the stairs and I was just inches away from the mother. I shoved her against the wall and grabbed her cell phone, easily snapping it in half. I started for the girl when I heard sirens blaring through the forest. _Oh no…_

I spun around quickly and rushed out of the RV just in time to see one of the park rangers trucks pull up one of the paths. I leapt up off the last stair in the RV and started to fly away, staying above the trees and then later diving down just under the canopy so I couldn't be tracked. I barely had enough strength to make the steep rise in altitude that lead up to my cave and collapsed when I finally got there.

"Aven!" Iggy said rushing to my side. I forced a smile for him and then remembered he couldn't see it, which only made my smile grow. I looked around at what little I could see and noticed that their backpacks were full and zipped and Fang was glancing around the cave looking for anything they might have forgotten. They were leaving.

"Are you alright?" Iggy asked, helping me up. As I stood the gun I had taken from the man slipped out from under my belt and silence fell as it hit the rocky floor.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said picking up the gun. "I had to take it away from him, he was going to shoot." I walked past them all into the cave where I dropped the gun in the pile of junk by the storage hold. I walked back to the ledge of the cave and sat down with my feet dangling over the edge. I shakily opened my wings and let them rest around me as I rolled my bad shoulder, clenching my teeth to restrain some of the pain.

"Aven, I know we've only been here for a few days but we think-"

"It's better if you go. One of them called 911 and the park rangers saw me." I looked back at them with a small smile. "Fewer people; fewer chances of getting caught. It will be best if you go." With my words Fang continued to pack and the others looked over the view for the last time. Finally in late noon Max announced that they were ready to go. We said our good-byes and I tried to act like I was okay with all this. I felt Iggy lightly brush against my arm in order to find me. He sat down next to me without saying anything, yet I knew exactly how he felt. He stayed there until Max called for him to go. They all took off gracefully, Iggy being the last to go. I waved at them until they were out of sight and then returned to my place on the ledge. I leaned back on my hands and felt the warmth from where Iggy's hand had been just seconds before and now I was alone.

I put away all of the supplies, including the gun, and left out my pillow and sleeping bag. I pulled it out to the ledge and crawled in, laying on my stomach and looking out over the ledge with my wings outstretched on top of me. I examined the burn on my arm, which still stung a little. It was red with a few blisters in a clear line where the metal of the gun had pressed against my skin. I sighed and rested my chin on my hands and struggled to keep my composure. I hadn't felt quite so alone since the first night Truence had been gone.

I had no idea what to do with myself. All I could do was lie there and pretend everything was okay. I thought of Truence and how much I longed for him to be here, with me, more than ever before. Tears slid down my face as I watched the sun begin to set. Finally an idea came to me and I slipped out of my sleeping bag, stretched my wings and through myself off the cliff, opening my wings at the very last second. I had someplace to be.

_Author's Note: _Hello all! I'm very very sorry to my fans who waited soooo long for me to update but hey, I finally did it!!! I had a hard time writing the ending of this chapter because that's right when my first boyfriend broke up with me and I was feeling pretty alone too. But I'm happy to report that I've got a new boyfriend who treats me a million times better than the first one so now I'm happy and confident enough to write for you guys!!! YAY!!!


	20. Chapter 19

**The Renegade**

_Chapter 19_

Truence coughed and wheezed as he finally allowed his wings to stop beating and came to a rough landing on the ground. He was too exhausted to even care about being quiet or having a graceful landing. His knees buckled beneath him as his feet finally hit the ground and he dragged himself over to a nearby tree and leaned heavily against it. He shut his eyes, bringing them relief from the burning sting of little sleep and constant wind from traveling. He let his back scrape against the bark of the tree until he was at last on the ground again. His eyes watered from not only wind exposure but also from the relentless emotions that raged inside him. He had been so determined to make it all the way back to Aven by nightfall but his body simply couldn't do it. He felt hopelessly trapped inside his own body and the limits it forced him to have. Finally he couldn't fight off rest any longer and promised himself that he would find Aven, and it would be soon.

Aven let herself fall after throwing herself off the edge of the cave. She loved the feeling of weightlessness it brought her, especially in the cool night air. She let herself fall even farther than she ever had before. As she finally let her wings out to swoop back up she could almost feel the tall grass only inches below her. She flew blind, above the trees and out of danger. She knew where she was going by heart and had done it almost everyday since Truence left.

Truence felt his body jump out of sleep at a sudden sound, before he even knew what it was. He immediately scanned the area for any movement and silently got to his feet. He heard sounds that almost mimicked his own quiet footsteps and whispered breaths. He knew it was a person not an animal. He stopped following the sound and merely listened to it. _Are they… crying?_

Aven finally sensed that she was reaching her destination and let her eyes peel open as she dove down and landed, both gracefully and silently. This is where her life had changed forever. This is the last place Truence was before disappearing from her life 3 months ago. She remembered he said he was going to get more food for them and how he promised he wouldn't be gone for too long. He had never left her completely alone for more than a day and after two days she had gotten worried and started searching the forest around the cave. After searching all day she found this small clearing in the forest. Even in the darkness of night she could see the blood that stained the beaten grass. She knew there had been a struggle here and she knew it was with Truence. She could smell him in his blood in the humid night air. She remembered when she first found the small area she just stood there in disbelief, not wanting to accept what her senses were telling her.

She hated this place but couldn't help but be drawn to the last place her love was known to be… _alive._ She cursed herself for adding that last word but in the end couldn't deny the fact that it could be true. _It is true…_She finally let herself think. She had tried to keep that thought out of her mind until now but could not deny it any longer. _Truence is dead. _Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, reduced to tears in finally accepting the fact that she was alone.

"Aven? Aven!" The voice suddenly jolted her out of her tears. Her emotions instantly changed from sadness to fear. She had heard his voice calling to her ever since he had disappeared. At first she would jump up and search for him franticly, her eyes welling with hope that he had finally returned but after having it happen countless times with no sign of Truence it left her with a different feeling. His voice echoed in her head, mocking her fear and loneliness and then became almost threatening. She jumped back, leaning on her hands, the sound sending shivers up her body and causing her to quiver in fear.

"Aven!" His voice repeated, this time louder. Aven became hysterical and couldn't control a cold shudder that came from her throat and sent a new surge of tears down her face. "Aven!" She couldn't stand it. Aven hopelessly covered her ears to try to drown out the sound but her powerful ears picked it up anyway. Suddenly the leaves and plants in front of her seemed to explode and she felt her heart jump sporadically and then seem to stop.

Truence ran as fast as he weakening legs would carry him, a bolt of pain shooting up through his body with every stride. Finally he burst through a small wall of leaves and felt his heart come closer and closer to exploding with every beat and there she was. _Finally. _

Aven sat in silence staring at the figure before her. Her imagination had never taken her this far before. She stared into those cool pale eyes that she knew and loved that now were torturing her with their unending gaze. _He's not real… your going crazy… he's not real…_She kept telling herself.

"Aven, it's me." Truence said. The figure that trembled before him cold, alone, and frozen on the ground was a terrible shell of what his love had once been. He knew his capture would be harder on Aven than it had been on him but the look in her eyes scared him. She looked hurt, betrayed, and afraid of him, all were things that he had always sworn to protect her from.

Aven shivered in frozen silence. Everything around her was cold and quiet except for Truence's voice cutting through the air. Her eyes were fixed on him but her mind was telling her that he wasn't really there. As her eyes swept over him she saw the blood on his clothes and the cuts and scars all over his body. Then their eyes met again as he took a step forward and she saw and felt the warmth in his gaze as he looked at her with a small smile forming on his pale face. Without even willing her body to move she suddenly found herself in his arms holding him tightly and burying her face in his chest.

"I'm here, Aven, I'm finally back." He whispered to her as she stained his shirt even further with her tears. He finally broke down at the sight of her small innocent face looking up at him with tears streaming down her face and off her trembling lip. Her hand shook as it ran down his face, wet with his tears. They held each other closely and let out the emotion that had been building up over the past three months of their loneliness. Several times Truence lightly lifted her chin and kissed her gently, cherishing every second they were finally back together. They remained silent until neither of them could cry anymore.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant to leave you." Truence told her quietly as she rested in his arms.

"I thought you were dead. I gave up." Aven said, her voice shaking almost as much as her small, curled up frame. "I missed you so much."

"I know. I missed you too." Neither of them could keep tears from flowing down their face. Aven remained curled up in Truence's lap surrounded by his arms and gripping his shirt tightly. She gazed off into the distance, glancing up at him from time to time almost as if making sure he was really still there.

She pressed his face to his shoulder and whispered the words Truence had been dying to hear since he got captured. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said back, pulling her face up one more time to give her a passionate kiss that made her know he meant it. They both took in a big breath of the humid air and stood up. Without saying a word they both knew that they should start heading back. Their wings grazed each other as they flew, longing to be close to each other and watching the sunrise as they headed back to the cave.

When they finally reached the top of the cliff they immediately moved closer together, holding hands and kissing. The feeling of love, companionship, and relief overwhelmed their already exhausted bodies and minds. Aven clung to Truence's hand and lead him back into the cave. She quickly zipped open the sleeping bag she had been using and laid it out flat and brought Truence's old one over and laid it over them as they huddled beneath it. They kissed again as they laid in each other's embrace and let their fears, frustration, and loneliness melt away as they drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

"Love you."

"I love you too."

_Author's Note: _ Yes, I know I'm a terrible person for making you all wait so very long to add this last chapter… or is it the last: ) Tell me what you think: sequel or not? Thanks!


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